Video: TravelSmith Travel Tips #18 - How To Avoid Festival Mistakes

It's Wednesday, which means it's time for another great travel time courtesy of Richard Bangs and TravelSmith. This time out, Richard has some tips to help us avoid making mistakes while attending a festival or other cultural event. This may seem like a no brainer, but it is a lesson he learned the hard way while visiting Spain to cover the running of the bulls at Pamplona. I won't spoil the story, but lets just say the reporter got more than he had bargained for. Always wear fast shoes!

Hiking The Caminito del Rey: Spain's Most Dangerous Trail

My friend Matthew Karsten recently had the opportunity to hike the Caminito del Rey, a notoriously dangerous trail located in Andalucia, Spain. The trail was originally built over a century ago to grant works building a new dam in the area access to the site. It sits 100 meters (328 feet) above the canyon floor, and over the decades it has slowly fallen into disrepair. Sections of the trail are completely missing, while others have just steel beams left in place. This has caused most people to shy away from the route completely, but some adrenaline junkies visit just to experience the Caminito in its current state.

Matt gives us an extensive report on his experience there, as well as a fantastic video that he shot along the way. Read his thoughts on the experience here, and watch the video below.  He describes the place as very beautiful, while also acknowledging the inherent dangers of walking this route at the same time.

If you've always wanted to walk the Caminito del Rey, you may want to hurry. Matt also reports that in May, the trail will be shut down, and a restoration plan will be put into place. This will, of course, make things safer, but it'll also take away the reputation of the route as well. Considering that there have been several deaths on the trail over the years, it is a good thing that it'll finally be repaired, But I'm sure it'll also diminish the lure of the trail for some as well.

Video: Into The Cave Of Wonders

There are two buzzwords we're hearing a lot about these days in terms of filmmaking (three if you count drones!). Those buzzwords include 4K and HDR. 4K shoots video at resolutions higher than HD, while High Dynamic Range video (and photography) captures colors in brighter, more saturated fashions. The result is an ultra-realistic looking video that has to be seen to be believed.

The filmmakers behind the video below used both 4K and HDR in the production of their short documentary entitled Into the Cave of Wonders. The results are pretty spectacular, as you'll see when you view the 9 minute clip. And before anyone asks, yes, the Cave of Wonders does exist. It is located in southern Spain near the town of Aracena. It is also open to the public, so start planning your visit soon.

Into the Cave of Wonders [4k HDR short documentary] from LovetheFrame on Vimeo.

Video: Climbing Spain's Sierra de Guara

Spanish climbers Manu Cordova and Javi Bueno are well known for putting up new routes in their home country and the Alps. When the weather turns bad in they favorite climbing spots, they head to the Sierra de Guara to find new challenges. The video below is a fantastic short film about their exploits and one of the better climbing movies that I've seen in awhile. The region that they are climbing in looks simply amazing, with plenty of excellent routes to explore. If you have 20 minutes to kill, I definitely recommend checking this video out.

Historias de cordada from Boreal Video on Vimeo.

Video: Mountain Biking Down A Volcano

Looking for a new place to ride your mountain bike? Perhaps  you should consider heading to the Spanish island of Gran Canaria. That's what pro riders Di Litta and Kilian Bron did recently and they found some surprisingly great terrain. The video below shows off their ride as they bomb down the side of a volcano. This is so good, you'll almost certainly be considering a ride of your own afterwards.

Video: Precision Wingsuit Cave Flight

There is no question that wingsuit pilots are getting more daring and precise with their flights. Don't believe me? Then check out the video below of Alexander Polli zipping through a narrow cave opening in the Roca Foradada Mountains in Montserrat, Spain. Polli makes a couple of warm-up jumps first to get his timing down, but on his third flight he blasts through the small opening in the rock face at a blistering 250 km/h (155 mph).

This one will definitely leave you holding your breath. Wow!

Video: Climbing The Nit de Bruixes Route

Climber Iker Pou recently became the first to complete the Nit de Bruixes (Witch's Night) route on Margalef Mountain in Spain, and one look at the video below, and you'll see why. Early on, it becomes quite clear that Iker is a talented and skilled climber, but as the video progresses, he becomes something else. Something superhuman. At one point he is holding his entire body in place with a single finger, and it is an impressive sight to see. My hands hurt just watching this video, which is quite a display of grace, power, and agility.